Mice Moved in While Away from Home

Question

I was away from home for 2 months this past October, November and when i came back i found mouse droppings and urine all over, couch gnawed at and visibly saw 2 mice, one very small and one bigger brown.

The pantry was invaded and a mess as well as all three bedrooms. They came from the garage as they chew through. What should i do, I put out glue baits and i saw the mouse avoid it as well as bait stations. Should I get a company to help me out? I am not handy myself and don’t know how to look for entrances. Do u know what should I do?

Answer

Pest problems can multiply when you are away for an extended trip. Of course, it would have been nice if you could have plugged up any entrances for pests before you left, But if you can’t find an entrance, maybe you can force an exit, and trap any rodents who don’t leave now.

How do you make your unwelcome guests leave? Just don’t feed them any more, unless it is bait in a trap.

The secret to success in trapping mice is to make sure that the trap is placed in an enclosed space. Just putting out traps in the middle of the garage floor won’t do you a lot of good. Mice (and rats) navigate with their whiskers, keeping their whiskers close to a solid surface such as a wall. Only in cases of extreme hunger or thirst, or imminent danger, will a mouse venture into the open. And if a rodent sees you watching it, it will almost certainly try to avoid any trap in your shared field of vision!

Glue traps won’t work if there is a way for mice to go around them, and if you don’t know where they are coming in, you probably can’t find a good place to place the trap. Traps with food baits will be more effective.

When you put out your traps, try to place them along walls, or even better, in a little tunnel you make by cutting out two ends of a box, placing the box over the trap or use the Victor electronic mouse trap. Make the bait more attractive by making sure there aren’t any easy supplies of food or water in the rest of the house. Close food containers. Make sure faucets don’t drip. Then, since mice and brown rats are omnivorous, and they prefer strongly scented food, make sure you use cheese or meat to bait the trap, rather than peanut butter.

If you are sure your pesky visitors are coming in from the garage, it makes sense to reduce rodent traffic to your garage. Make sure the door is down, and fits tight at the ground. Move trash cans away from your garage, and be sure they are tightly closed. Mow tall grass and trim weeds and bushes in your yard that provide rodents with a way station on the way to your home.